MMBA CPS - Fort Custer XC

I was up & out the door Sunday morning just as the sun was rising. I did the 2 hour drive solo out to Fort Custer Recreation Area near Battle Creek with tunes cranked, eating breakfast, & dodging a multitude of low flying kamikaze birds. It was the strangest thing??? I narrowly avoided a goose, a duck, a red-wing black bird, a starling, a sparrow, and had a crow play chicken with me. He won! I swerved & he stood his ground continuing to eat whatever dead thing he was eating in the middle of M-14 West. Crazy :oP. All that action-paction from the birds made the drive sort of fun & video game like…lol. I arrived at the venue in plenty of time to get ready & head out for a good long warm up. At the start line I asked a few of the girls what kind of shape the course was in? How was the water crossing? etc because I hadn’t ridden the trail since last years race. I got “fast” & “fun”… well, this I already knew ;o). How different could it be? Actually….VERY! There was a a lot of new trail added & old stuff was omitted. All in all there were no big surprises as the new trail fit in very well & was just as twisty but I did miss riding the big crater. 

On “Go!” I got the hole shot with Heather Spencer (Team Fast) right on my wheel. I pulled for the mile or so until we saw the first few Expert men & right before we hit the single track Heather jumped ahead. Her and I, wheel to wheel, weaved through the single track together, passing a lot of expert men along the way for about 20 minutes. It was tough being the 2nd rider of the 2 of us trying to pass all these guys as I had to keep yelling out “2!” “2!”. Well at one point Heather got around someone & I couldn’t due to circumstance & that began a small gap that she knew was there & took advantage of. But hey… it’s a race right?! I would’ve done the same & as a matter of fact there was nothing else to do really. She was able to get in front of more guys & to her credit she was also just riding a bit stronger than myself. Also having prerode the course she knew it a little better. I came onto some sections that were totally unfamiliar & brand new  & some that were familiar but didn’t remember them well enough from a year ago & it cost me. Live & learn eh?! I passed more expert guys than I had in a loooong time during a race. Really I don’t think there was more than a few minutes at a time when I was on course alone. That in itself was fun just riding with & catching guys that were up ahead. It felt good to go fast! Lol! And although a win would have been great, having raced against Heather before & riding with her a few times this past winter, I realize she’s just super strong! No doubt about it! Coming in 2nd a few minutes behind her I can still say I had a really good race! We did our cool down together & she told me to “keep doing whatever it is you’re doing ‘cuz it’s working!”. Thanks Coach! 

Thanks to SWMMBA for putting on an excellent race. And thanks to all the people that were cheering! Those cheers work magic sometimes! I ended my day with a stop off in Ann Arbor to visit my friend Marne & even got to see my old teamie Lummis at the bike shop too! It was a great day!

:o)

Erin

Ontario Cup #1 - Mansfield

We arrived at Mansfield Outdoor Centre Friday evening and set up camp for the race weekend. Mansfield is 5.5 hrs northeast of where I live and was about 20-25 degrees colder. There was even still a few patches of snow in places! The region is very hilly because it’s on the Niagra Escarpment. In talking with Sue & one of the Chico Racing promoters Friday night, I learned that the course was full of climbing, it was pretty open, & had super fast downhills. Sue referred to it as “the perfect season opener”. A place to really test the fitness & those somewhat rusty trail skills. Sounded perfect! Temps got down right freezing (literally) Friday night which made for a chilly night of camping but Saturday morning quickly warmed with sunshine into the low 40’s. Sue & I did a 2 lap preride in the afternoon that had me grinning ear-to-ear :o). The course was AWESOME! It was 4.4 miles with 600 ft of climbing in each lap. There were screaming fast downhills (25 mph+) as well but they all ended in 90º turns right before you started the next climb = NO MOMENTUM…lol. Every climb was earned with most of them being quite steep & technical except the opening start climb which was a wide open and at least a half mile long. Basically it felt like you were either going up-up-UP or down-down-DOWN… not a lot of flat sections. Sunday morning, race day, was great! We were woken up @ 7:45 a.m. by a voice over the P.A. shouting “GOOD MORNING RACERS!!!”. Instant butterflies! Our campsite was just outside  the edge of the infield were the finish shoot was located & all the team tents & factory team trailers were. There was SO much going on there! It was really something to walk around & see all the hubbub. Quite an event! Sue & I did a long warm up out on the roads & before we knew it we were in the staging area with 18 Pro Elite women awaiting our 1:30pm start! I had good sensations on Saturday in the preride as well as in the warm up. I was feeling pretty hopeful for the race despite the fact it was the first race of the year & I had done no high intensity training yet. The start was hard & hectic with a 4 person pile up & some mild handlebar rubbing! Amanda Sin (Ontario Provincial Champ) & Cindy Montambault (Quebec Provincial Champ) pushed the pace hard up the first long climb. The group broke up with them taking off on the front, Sue & some girls in a chase group, & me a few girls in mid-pack trying to get to the chase group. The first lap of 4 was fast & had me seeing stars by the end as my heart rate had sky rocketed the first 25 min mainly due to the excitement & adrenaline of racing.  Laps 2 & 3 I settled into a good sustainable pace & tried to reel in a rider that I had been chasing the entire race, Emily Flynn (Tommy and Lefebvre Cycling). I managed to catch her about a mile & a half into the last lap(FINALLY!) & attacked up the next climb. I hoped it stuck but never looked back & pushed hard all the way to the finish for 10th place! I was really stoked with how I felt before, during, & after the race! Having a Coach finally is helping a lot! Not to mention my custom Ti Quiring helped quite a bit too :o)! It rides like it’s been training as hard as I have this spring ;o). Sue”Bdoo” Stephens came in 6th with a really strong race even with the head/chest cold she had creeping she still killed it! I’m really  excited to see how the season unfolds for us- Team Quiring!

Thanks to Chico Racing for such an awesome event! It was a great weekend!

:o)

Erin

Last Saturday I went to see Ernie Dell @ Cycletherapy Bike Shop to get a  Specialized Body Geometry Fit on my new bike. I’ve never had anyone help me with bike fit before so I was really looking forward to it. The process started with an interview about me & my body. We talked of broken bones, bike accidents, car accidents, back problems, neck problems, ligament tightness, etc. I basically gave Ernie all the information that would help him to know while giving me a proper fit. After the interview portion he tested my flexibility & strength. It showed I was super flexible but had weakness in my core. I’ve been working on my core too but I guess I need to keep on that! What started this whole idea of even getting a bike fit for me was that i thought i may need a wider saddle. I have always used 143mm but suspected I need a 155mm. The 155mm felt way better & my sit bones were finally where they should be: Resting comfortably! Over the next few hours Ernie assessed my leg extension & my riding position. My shoes were fitted with arch supports & a wedge in one. One of my pedals was moved out a smidgen by adding a few washers between it and my crank. My right knee was kind of going out & in & out & in and this helped straighten it out. My cleats were also put in the most optimal spot as well. After a few hours the fit was done I went home & hopped on the bike for a 3 hour dirt road ride. I’ll admit everything felt just a tad strange at first but after an hour I got used to it & it all felt great! The next day I did another 3 hour ride but added in (the yellow loop @ Island Lake) 6 miles of singletrack. The new bike & new fit SHINED! I’m not sure if i’ve ever felt better or had more fun on a bike! Really! Between the amazing custom Ti frame Scott built me, the super light components & tires from our great sponsors, & now the bike fit at Cycletherapy…. my new bike rides trail like a rocket!!!

:o)

Erin

My new ride!

She is so fine! So light! So snappy & plush.

A total dream to ride. PLEASE nobody wake me up!

:o)

Erin